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               THE DEAD DAISIES / THE ANSWER / JACKAMAN – BIRMINGHAM 02 ACADEMY 2, 19.11.16
                  The Dead Daisies and The Answer have teamed up for a co-headline tour, with a rotating line-up,  on you,” she sings, dedicating it to all the
               each band playing for a solid 75 minutes. It’s a great bill for hard rock fans.  females out there, who may have been in
                  Jackaman are on stage first, a project of female vocalist Lynne Jackaman, previously of Saint  a  similar  situation.  ‘Can’t  Find  My  Way
               Jude. She brings with her just one guitarist, Danny Page. Lynne has a stunning voice, planted firmly  Home’ is smoother than a coconut coffee,
               in the soulful blues rock world. Songs such as ‘Wasted’ are odes to a bad relationship.  “I’m wasted  with  an  almost  gospel  feel.  Lynne  im-
                                                                                         presses a lot, even if the style of music
                                                                                         isn’t your usual bag.
                                                                                            The Answer’s set is heavily focused
                                                                                         on their new album, ‘Solas’. They open
                                                                                         with the atmospheric opening title track.
                                                                                         For the first part of the song we can barely
                                                                                         hear frontman Cormac Neeson’s vocals,
                                                                                         although he and the band continue seem-
                                                                                         ingly unaware. Thankfully it gets sorted.
                                                                                         ‘Beautiful World’ continues the ethereal el-
                                                                                         ement, it has an almost melancholy yet
                                                                                         ghostly air at the start before it kicks in as
                                                                                         a powerful rocker. These songs show the
                                                                                         progression of the band, moving on from
                                                                                         being pigeonholed as a classic rock band.
                                                                                         ‘Tunnel’ sees Cormac on acoustic guitar.
                                                                                         It’s a slower, reflective number. ‘In This
                                                                                         Land’,  meanwhile,  sees  guitarist  Paul
                                                                                         Mahon  playing  mandolin  and  bassist
                                                                                         Micky Waters takes on the acoustic guitar.
                                                                                         Things get even more impressive when
                                                                                         Cormac  brings  out  a  bouzouki  to  play
                                                                                         ‘Spectacular’ on. Lynne Jackaman joins
                                                                                         the band onstage for the upbeat ‘Nowhere
                                                                                         Freeway’, a song she sang on. Her vocals
                                                                                         really add to the song and it goes down
                                                                                         well. ‘Battle Cry’ ends the set on a hopeful
                                                                                         and promising note with its melodic Gaelic
                                                                                         chorus.
                                                                                            There’s one thing that The Answer, for
                                                                                         the most part, bypass, and that is catchy
                                                                                         hooks. The  Dead  Daisies  have  them  in
                                                                                         abundance  though.  From  the  moment
                                                                                         John  Corabi,  Marco  Mendoza,  David
                                                                                         Lowy, Doug Aldrich and Brian Tichy walk
                                                                                         on stage it’s a non-stop high-octane en-
                                                                                         ergy fest. With their latest album being ti-
                                                                                         tled  ‘Make  Some  Noise’,  these  guys
                                                                                         definitely make you want to. They are the
                                                                                         most  wonderful  smack  in  the  face  and
                                                                                         bloodrush to the brain you’ll probably ever
                                                                                         encounter. There aren’t many bands that
                                                                                         bring  out  consistently  excellent  albums
                                                                                         where every track’s a winner but The Dead
                                                                                         Daisies do, and this, in turn, means for an
                                                                                         excellent set that you can’t get enough of.
                                                                                         From the moment that ‘Long Way To Go’
                                                                                         begins, you’re in for a great ride. The best
                                                                                         thing about it is that there aren’t any slow
                                                                                         moments. Even when John Corabi asks if
                                                                                         the audience is ready for a ballad, he then
                                                                                         adds “our version of a ballad” – and then
                                                                                         the band play the balls-to-the-wall ‘Main-
                                                                                         line’, a rip-roaring song that creates even
                                                                                         more  steam  than  the  others  in  the  set!
                                                                                         ‘Lock ‘N’ Load’ is a driving summer song,
                                                                                         ‘Last Time I Saw The Sun’ is infectious,
                                                                                         like  most  of  the  songs,  while  ‘Join  To-
                                                                                         gether’ sees Marco Mendoza get offstage
                                                                                         and walk into the sold out crowd. Not quite
                                                                                         sure how he found room as it was packed
                                                                                         –  and  rightly  so.  Every  time  The  Dead
                                                                                         Daisies play in the Midlands the shows are
                                                                                         sold out – it’s no wonder, UK rock fans
                                                                                         love them. We look forward to the next
                                                                                         time they come and play hopefully an even
                                                                                         bigger, sold out venue.
                                                                                                               YYYYY
                                                                                                                   SBV
                                                                                         Top:  Marco  Mendoza  & David  Lowy  (The  Dead
                                                                                         Daisies)  and  Left:  Cormac  Neeson  (The  Answer)
                                                                                         Photos By Shari Black Velvet
                CONCERTS
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